Coverage of tonight's Cards and Reds game can be heard on Newstalk 97.3 WTIM beginning at 6:40pm.

St. Louis, MO (SportsNetwork.com) - Michael Wacha worked six solid innings and 
Yadier  Molina  hit an early  three-run double, as  St. Louis survived a close 
call  in  the ninth  to best  Cincinnati, 5-3,  in the  opener of a three-game 
set from Busch Stadium. 

Allen  Craig  and Matt  Holliday drove  in a  run each  for the Cardinals, who 
raised their NL champion banner and won a home opener for the first time since 
2010. 

Wacha  (1-0) allowed  a run on seven  hits with three strikeouts and one walk, 
then  Carlos Martinez  and  Kevin  Siegrist combined  for  two more  scoreless 
innings. 

"There  was a huge crowd out there. Lots of energy," Wacha said. "I don't know 
who wouldn't thrive off of those kind of situations." 

Trevor  Rosenthal  got into trouble  in the ninth,  walking Jay Bruce and Ryan 
Ludwick  and allowing a  base hit to Todd Frazier which loaded the bases. Zack 
Cozart  singled  in Bruce with one  away and pinch-hitter Neftali Soto added a 
sacrifice fly before Billy Hamilton's fly out ended the game. 

"Collectively,  we've  struggled  to  do  anything  with  runners  in  scoring 
position,"  noted Reds manager Bryan Price. "That will change. It's just tough 
to sit through it." 

Roger Bernadina added a pinch-hit RBI double and Brayan Pena went 3-for-4 with 
two doubles for the Reds, who have dropped four of their last five. 

Tony  Cingrani  (0-1) lasted only four  frames and was charged with three hits 
and as many runs with five strikeouts and four walks. 

After  Hamilton doubled to start the game, he was sacrificed to third and then 
erased in a rundown between third and home and Cincinnati went scoreless. 

St.  Louis countered in  the home half as Matt Carpenter and Peter Bourjos led 
off  with hits, Holliday walked and Molina plated them all on a one-out bases- 
clearing double. 

Wacha  held the Reds in check until the fifth, when Pena and Bernadina stroked 
consecutive one-out doubles. 

The  Cards boosted their  edge to four in the home seventh with three straight 
one-out  hits:  doubles from  Bourjos and  Holliday followed  by a single from 
Craig. 

                                   Game Notes 

St.  Louis improved to  3-6 in home openers at the new Busch Stadium ... Wacha 
hadn't  allowed  a run in  21 total innings  against the Reds until Cincinnati 
measured him in the fifth ... Prior to the contest, the Reds activated catcher 
Devin  Mesoraco from  the 15-day  disabled  list and  optioned catcher  Tucker 
Barnhart to Triple-A Louisville ... Attendance was a record 47,492.